A Darker Side to a Dark Story
by Tagsters
Summary: Taking a look into the life of one of the Glade of Dreams' previous villians. Vague summary is vague. Rated T for violence/abuse, language, and other possible themes. TEMPORARILY ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hey, guys. Just wanted to let you know a few things. I have some ideas for this little fic, but I'm not exactly sure just where I'm going with it. This can quite literally turn into anything. Also, I'm using the name "Darkray" opposed to "Raymesis" just because I like it more. So, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy chapter one. Please Read and Review!**

In a cave, surrounded by wildlife, hid two of the biggest threats that had ever swept through the glades. They had fled from the rest of society after having been defeated by the Guardian of the Glade of Dreams. Their home, the cave, was about as far away from the rest of the world as it could be. The cave itself was well furnished with a few different alcoves inside where things like beds resided. In the main area of the cave, one of the residents was resting on a couch, lost in thought. Boredom had overtaken him at the moment. The cave around him was silent, except for the _drip, drip, drip_ of the rainwater leaking through from the night before.

The dark figure broke out of his trance - like state. He propped his head up on his hand and winced when he touched a darkened portion of his skin. He gently rubbed the bruise on the side of his head, letting out an exaggerated sigh before another voice completely broke through the silence.

"Are you ever going to fix that damn leak, Darkray?"

Mr. Dark's clone lazily shifted his yellow eyes towards the offender of silence. A careless gaze met an annoyed glare before a response was given.

"Why don't you do it yourself, father? I'm not your fucking servant." Darkray gave Mr. Dark an unimpressed look.

The clone's creator raised an eyebrow, not amused. "Are you not? I was under the impression that I created you just for that purpose."

Darkray looked up at his creator with a smug expression. "Yeah? And what are you going to do if I don't obey you, _master?"_

Rubbing his temples, Mr. Dark inhaled a deep breath to keep his calm. "I don't much care for your attitude, Darkray. You had better shut your mouth before you make this worse for yourself."

Darkray abruptly stood, making his creator jump in surprise, although he would never admit to it. "Do _not_ tell me what to do! I am entitled to my own free will!"

"Please, boy." Mr. Dark rolled his eyes, "From the moment you came into existence, you didn't have a free will. I created you. You belong to me and you will do as I say." The cloaked being chuckled at his own comment, causing his creation to narrow his eyes.

In a sudden action, the clone rushed his creator, fire in his eyes and fists ready to hit. However, Darkray's eyes widened as his fist never impacted his intended target. Instead, his right hand slammed into the palm of his creator's left hand, which gripped his own tightly.

"Big mistake, Darkray." That was the last thing Darkray heard before a blunt force smashed into his face. He fell onto his back as his creator's hand let go of his fist. After the clone regained his senses, he looked up at Mr. Dark with a shocked look. Mr. Dark only smirked at the boy's now swelling eye.

 _"_ Are you going to obey me now?" The creator waited for Darkray to give a submissive response, but raised an eye when this never came.

The clone slightly lifted himself from his laying position on the ground. _"_ G-go fuck yourself, father." He spat out.

Mr. Dark frowned and put a foot on his creation's chest, forcing him back down.

"You are nothing but a _slave_ to do my bidding! You were created for no other purpose than to serve me!" The creator applied pressure to his foot, making it difficult for Darkray to breathe.

"F-father-!" The clone wheezed out, the pressure becoming difficult to bear.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds..." Mr. Dark started, his tone dripping with venom, "To get the hell out of my house. And you had better be back by sundown with an improved attitude. Do you understand me?"

The dark clone nodded his head shakily in response. The creator removed the crushing foot from Darkray's chest and he smirked upon hearing the clone gasp for air.

"One."

Darkray began to internally panic as he struggled to stand, still gasping for air.

"Two"

The clone stumbled out of the cave he called home, desperately trying to get as far away from his creator as he could. Mr. Dark only made it to the count of _six_ before he was no longer audible to Darkray's ears.

XXXX

The hooded clone sat by the edge of a small pond, collecting his thoughts. He looked at his reflection in the pond to examine the damage. "Damn..." he mumbled to himself, "He really did some damage."

His right eye was nearly swollen shut with a small gash directly above it. He gently touched the wound, but winced at the extreme soreness. He pulled his hand away to find that the cut had not completely stopped bleeding as the fingertips of his gloves were tinted with a deep shade of red. He sighed and wiped away the water forming in the irritated eye. Then Darkray looked down in his hoodie to see a foot - sized bruise forming on his chest. He groaned, knowing it would only continue to get darker, matching the color of the bruise on his clone reluctantly looked back at his reflection in the water to examine the bruise. He cringed. It was darker than he remembered.

Darkray felt a hot wave a rage wash over him before an overwhelming feeling of... something he could not describe enveloped him. Something he had not felt before. A dull ache in his chest.

"Wh-What is this..." The clone's voice cracked and he choked back a sudden sob. So many emotions and feelings consumed him, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He could feel the tears start to form in his eyes, which he immediately began rubbing away, only further irritating his black eye. But before he could focus in on the unfamiliar feelings, something caught his attention. Someone behind him in the water's reflection. Before he could react, he was shoved into the water before him, coughing as he resurfaced.

Darkray looked at the figure before him, eyes widening at the familiar face. He had light skin with golden locks of hair, much in contrast to his own colors.

"Rayman." The clone coughed out.

"And just what are you doing here?!" His golden lookalike exclaimed.

Darkray rolled his eyes. "Swimming, apparently." He turned his head to hide his swollen eye and bruise, not wanting to show his nemesis any sign of weakness. Deep down, he knew he just didn't want Rayman to ask about the cause of the injuries.

"Well, you're going to have to leave." Rayman stated.

Darkray have a simple yet cold reply. "No."

Rayman grabbed his darker clone by his hoodie and pulled him up to face level, causing Darkray to flinch at the sudden action.

"I told you to leave and I mean it! You don't belong... here..." Rayman trailed off, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. "What...happened to your eye?" Darkray shoved the blonde, causing him to release his hoodie.

"It's nothing. Just leave me the fuck alone." Darkray turned away from the questioning blonde. He stared at his reflection in the water, hoping the golden haired boy would actually listen to him. The overwhelming emotions slowly returned, and the dark clone bit his lip to keep himself from being completely consumed by these feelings of... no, he still couldn't put his finger on just _what_ these feelings were.

Rayman stared at his evil clone's back, feeling more than a little awkward. He expected Darkray to at least put up a little bit of a fight. His normally evil enemy seemed... withdrawn. The blonde pondered on what could make his clone act so different and was especially curious about the wounds. Rayman decided to take a less... abrasive approach this time, hoping to uncover some answers. His expression softened and he began walking towards his clone.

 _Why won't he just leave?_ Darkray internally questioned. He closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. The clone was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the blonde slowly walking towards him. Darkray jumped when Rayman put a hand on his shoulder, and he whirled around, pulling back a fist, ready to fight anything that the blonde could throw at him. But he froze upon seeing the face looking back at him

The expression Rayman was giving him was one he had never seen from the guardian before. Well, at least not directed towards him. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure it wasn't aggressive.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?!" Darkray shouted, dropping his fist. Rayman took another step forward, and unsure of his true intentions, Darkray took a step back. Enough to slip off the edge of the pond and fall backwards. He expected to fall into the cool water once again, but was surprised when he felt a hand grab his own, pulling him back up.

"Careful there! Ya almost fell." Rayman gave him a small, genuine smile.

Darkray's eyes widened and he jerked his hand away once he had regained his balance. "Don't touch me!" He started to storm off, but was stopped by an abrupt tug on his hood.

"Just where do ya think you're going?" The blonde questioned, not amused by the other's attitude. The clone turned to the blonde, but instead of the angry expression the guardian expected, Darkray's expression was of genuine contemplation.

"Hmm... Well... I guess I'll go h-home, if that's okay with you, O' Guardian." Underneath the sarcastic tone, Darkray's stutter on 'home' didn't go unnoticed. Rayman gave his clone a glare before finally responding.

"Are ya sure ya don't want to, I dunno... talk about anything?" The blonde's eyes looked everywhere except for at his clone, and when he finally met the other's gaze, he was met with a look of disbelief. Rayman scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Talk... to you? About what?! I'm not talking to any fucking goody-goody about anything!" Darkray's glare was a warning to back off, but the blonde's stubbornness kept him from retreating.

"You seem, well... bothered by... something. I think that getting it off your chest could help." Rayman gave the clone a half smile.

Darkray took in a deep breath before responding. "Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable, Rayman. I get that you're really fucking nosey, but don't just pretend like you care in hopes that I'll tell you my 'deep and dark' secrets."

"Secrets?" Rayman asked. "Just what are you hiding?"

Darkray faltered at Rayman's question, but quickly regained his composure. "What's it to you?" The dark clone crossed his arms. "It's none of your business."

Rayman rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you have plans to cause trouble in the glades, in which case it _is_ my business. But something tells me that's not the problem. I suppose it really isn't any of my business, but like you said." The blonde smirked. "I'm nosey. But seriously, Darkray. Sometimes it helps to talk things out, and I'm here to listen."

Darkray let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, that's rich, Rayman. Yeah, I'm just going to sit down and tell my enemy all of my problems."

"Why not? It might help ya feel better. It usually helps me feel better to talk out my problems." Rayman sat down, gesturing for Darkray to sit in front of him.

Darkray rolled his eyes and sat down in front of Rayman, visibly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm sure you don't go call up Admiral Razorbeard to confess all of your problems to. So why should I tell you anything?"

Rayman frowned, shifting awkwardly in his seat at the thought. "That's different."

"It's not different at all." Retorted Darkray.

Rayman, becoming evidently annoyed, raised his voice. "Robots don't have feelings!"

Darkray raised an eyebrow. "So, what? Are you trying to say that you actually care about my feelings?"

"I never said that." The blonde paused, becoming distracted. "I'm sorry, but I've just got to know what caused all these injuries. Your eye looks especially bad." Rayman reached out to touch said eye, but only managed to have his hand slapped away by his darker clone.

"I hit it on something, okay?!" Darkray realized how cliché that story was, but he honestly couldn't think of a better explanation.

Rayman glared at him suspiciously. "I don't take you for the clumsy type. How about you tell me what actually happened?"

Darkray began to internally panic and shouted before he had a chance to filter his words. "Fine, Rayman! Someone fucking hit me! Happy now?!" The purple haired boy's expression changed to one of shock after he realized what he had just admitted.

The blonde's own expression changed to akin to pity, and Darkray loathed it. "Who hit you, Darkray?"

"Just... got into a fight... it's not a big deal." At this point, Darkray refused to make eye contact, and Rayman knew instantly that he was lying.

"Darkray..." Rayman started, but before he could get more than a name out, he was interrupted.

"Just stop! Please! I don't want to talk about it! Isn't knowing what I've already told you enough?!" Darkray knew that the information he provided was, in fact, not enough to satisfy the blonde, but he wanted more than anything to drop the topic entirely. Rayman sensed this and let out a sigh of defeat. He had pushed his darker clone far enough for the day and he knew he was lucky that Darkray told him anything at all.

"Alright... I'll let this go. For now. But if ya ever need to talk, I'm here to listen. Although, this doesn't mean I'll go any easier on ya if ya decide to get into mischief. I still have a job to do." The guardian paused and looked around at his surroundings, taking in a breath of the fresh air." Ya know, I'm pretty surprised that you found this little place, to be honest. It's pretty hidden. This place is like my own private... oasis. Kinda like my getaway when I just need time to myself. You're welcome to come here too if you need to be alone. Or if you want to talk to me. On most days I'm usually here at around noon."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I thought that you wanted me to get out anyway." Darkray's expression was less than amused.

"I was too quick to assume that you were up to no good. I suppose even villains need time to themselves, and trust me, I understand needing alone time." Rayman sent a smile Darkray's way, which caused him to cringe at the lighter being. The blonde stood up and offered a hand to assist his darker clone up. Darkray looked up at Rayman and shook is head before standing up by himself.

"Contrary to what you may believe, I do not need your help, Rayman. I can take care of myself." The darker clone deadpanned.

Rayman raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was trying to help you?"

Darkray rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. It's in your nature, _guardian._ A weakness that is nearly impossible to overlook."

"I don't think of it as a weakness, Darkray." Rayman gave his clone with a thoughtful smile which made the darker boy feel uncomfortable.

The clone looked up at the sky, noting the time of day. "I should probably, um... go home. Father will be wanting me back soon... and he'd kill me if he knew I was 'chilling out' with the likes of you." Darkray's confident and arrogant attitude seemed to vanish when he talked about his creator, which aroused suspicion in the guardian. Rayman wanted more than anything to dig deeper into the subject, but decided that it would be better to just leave it alone.

"Perhaps I'll see ya around, Darkray." Rayman stated, hopefulness in his eyes.

Darkray gave the guardian a sour look before responding. "Sure, Rayman. Whatever." The clone turned around and walked the path back from whence he came.

Rayman watched Darkray until he could no longer see him. The blonde furrowed his brows in thought. _He's a lot different from last time we met... I really wonder what could possibly be on his mind._

Rayman broke from his thoughts. He looked up at the setting sun and decided that it would be best for him to go as well. With that decision, the blonde began walking back to his home, leaving his private location vacant.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I am so, so sorry that it took this long for me to post this. It's been almost completely finished for quite some time now, but then fall break happened and I got lazy. Oops. Oh well. Chapter 2 is here now and that's all that matters. Chapter 3 could take a while to get out, just so ya guys know. I'm trying to alternate between this and my Mario fanfiction. I'm also really weighed down with stuff I have to do. Schoolwork and some projects of my own. Boring stuff that you guys don't care about.**

 **Also, to the lovely peeps reviewing, favoriting, and following... I see you. You guys are awesome and are my inspiration to continue this fanfiction. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy this chapter!**

Slowly but surely, Darkray approached his home. He hesitated as he neared it, looking up to the sky. The sun had hidden itself from view, leaving only the stars in its place. Darkray shivered, partially from the quickly cooling air, but mostly because of what, or rather _who_ he knewwas waiting on him inside of the cave.

With a deep breath, Darkray cautiously walked up to the front door, shakily placing a hand on the doorknob. He turned the knob and gently pressed against the door, only slightly opening it to reveal a small portion of the inside. Cautiously, the clone looked through the small opening, and upon seeing no one, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, turning to face the door and closing it quietly.

"You're late."

Darkray froze, startled. After a few moments, he turned to see his creator sitting a few feet away in a chair purposely turned to face the front door. The clone looked at the object in his creator's hands, eyes widening in realization. Mr. Dark's hands were wrapped around a baseball bat. Darkray tore his gaze away from the wooden bat, looking back up at his creator.

"I-I... I lost track of time..." The stuttering clone swallowed hard, finding it difficult to speak.

"That's hardly an excuse, Darkray." Mr. Dark stood, causing the clone to take a step back.

Darkray's voice was a mere whisper. "Sorry, father..."

"Sorry isn't good enough!" Mr. Dark's sudden shout made the clone flinch. "I told you to be home by sundown and you diliberately disobeyed me!"

"I didn't mean to! How about you get off my fucking back?!" Darkray scared himself with his own outburst. After realizing just what he had said he could feel his heart drop into his stomach. Immediate regret flooded his mind.

Mr. Dark's eyes widened, anger boiling behind them. _"What_ did you just say?" The creator slowly made his way towards his creation. "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

Darkray pressed his back up against the door, sliding down it until he was sitting on the floor. He opened his mouth and forced himself to speak, his voice sounding weaker than he wanted it to sound. "I'm... I'm just so sick and tired of the shit you constantly put me through!"

Barely giving Darkray time to finish speaking, Mr. Dark yelled back his response. "Then stop being such a damn failure! Sometimes I honestly regret ever giving you life! You are nothing but a mistake!"

Darkray looked up at his creator in complete shock. "F-father..." His voice came out as a whimper, but he didn't focus on it. A pain like he had never felt before left him breathless. His creator's harsh words felt worse than any beating he had ever taken. He could feel the tears well up in his eyes, and he forced himself to look down, away from Mr. Dark.

Ignoring his creation, Mr. Dark responded. "The way you have acted today is unacceptable and I will _not_ tolerate it."

Darkray's eyes were glued to the ground, allowing his hair to droop over his eyes and hide the tears he so desperately tried to keep back. The overwhelming emotions from earlier had returned at full force, and it took everything in the dark clone to hold it together. His eyes shifted to the black shoes that had just stepped directly in front of him, now trapped between Mr. Dark and the door.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Mr. Dark demanded.

Trembling, Darkray shook his head. He couldn't bear to show his creator the tears threatening to stream down his face. Ashamed. He felt so ashamed. The hurt the clone felt was more than he could handle, and he wanted more than anything for it to end.

Had Darkray looked up, he would've seen the warning in his creator's glare. "Damn it, Darkray-!"

"Shut up!" The clone screamed, interrupting Mr. Dark. "Just shut the _fuck_ up!" The pain was too much. He needed it to go away. After just a few seconds of his outburst, Darkray's emotional agony was replaced by an intense physical pain which then faded into blackness.

XXXX

Darkray's eyes fluttered opened, an intense headache hitting him as soon as he had regained his consciousness. He lifted his head off the ground and looked around the room with blurred vision. Mr. Dark was nowhere to be seen and the clone sighed with relief.

Darkray sat himself up against the door and closed his eyes. His head was pounding. He put his hand on the source of the pain and froze when he felt it. It was cold and sticky. He drew his hand back to look at it, and upon seeing this glove covered in red, he began to panic.

 _H-how much have I lost?!_ The clone squinted in pain. Thinking made his headache worse. He looked to the floor and noted the droplets of red where his head had been. He sighed with a bit of relief at the small amount of blood on the floor and rested for a minute before deciding it was time to get up.

Grabbing the door handle for support, Darkray hoisted himself up. He felt unsteady and lightheaded, but decided to press onwards anyway. He opened the door and stumbled out, letting the door slam behind him.

 _I-I need to go somewhere else... but... where?_ Darkray's thoughts were interrupted by the memories of a certain guardian and his "oasis". He groaned, but decided that it would probably be best to spend the rest of the night there. He needed to let the... tension wear down before he returned home. Suddenly, his creator's words flashed through his head.

"Mistake..." he mumbled to himself. He forced that word to the back of his mind, not wanting to think about it. It hurt too much to do so, both physically and emotionally.

Bracing himself against the trees, Darkray began to make his way to the oasis. His body felt weak and he was unsteady on his feet, making a rather short trip feel like an eternity. He paused to look up at the sky after a droplet of water splashed on his nose. The stars from earlier were completely concealed by clouds, and the clone cursed under his breath.

"Great... just what I needed..." Darkray attempted to quicken his pace, but found that he was physically unable to. The light sprinkling rapidly turned into a heavy rain, and the clone pulled his hood over his head, annoyed. The air was cool and the rain was cold, which further added to Darkray's discomfort.

By the time Darkray reached his destination, he barely had any strength left in him. He collapsed on the ground next to a large tree, which partially shielded him from the storm. Despite his discomfort, the clone could slowly start to feel himself give in to his exhaustion. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, distancing himself from the splitting headache and the chilly weather. It felt good to finally let his body rest.

XXXX

Darkray woke up feeling rather groggy. He gently rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn. His headache was still present but not nearly as severe as it was before. He felt much more warmer than when he fell asleep, but that could be because of the blanket he was wrapped in.

 _Wait. What?_ Darkray questioned how he had not noticed the large, plush blanket sooner. Confusion washed over him until he heard a voice from above him. Looking up, he saw his lighter counterpart.

"It's about time ya woke up. You've been out cold for quite some time." Rayman was sitting up on a large tree branch, looking down. He saw the confusion on his clone's face and gave him a smile. "Ya looked cold, so I went back and got ya a blanket." The blonde hopped down from his branch, landing on his feet and walking towards Darkray. "I also got ya some bandages for your, um... noggin."

Darkray reached up to touch said bandages, only just now realizing that they were there to begin with. He winced when his hand made contact, the wounded area being very sore.

The blonde's expression quickly changed to one of concern, and he decided to ask. "Looks like ya took quite the blow to the head. Mind telling me what happened?"

The clone let out a sigh before responding. "It's not important."

Rayman sat down next to his clone, closer than what Darkray was comfortable with. "It looks serious, Darkray. What's going on?"

Darkray turned his head to look at the blonde sitting next to him. "It's just... something I have to deal with. Alone."

"But you don't have to-" Rayman didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as his clone interrupted him.

"Alone, Rayman." Darkray gave the blonde a stern look, although it wasn't difficult for the guardian to see the hurt behind those yellow eyes.

"You don't have to go through this... whatever this is alone." Rayman turned his gaze to the ground, disappointed. He knew that his clone was suffering in some way, and he was beginning to get upset that Darkray was holding it all inside. On the other hand, Rayman noticed that his clone wasn't as aggressive as the day before, and he was greatful for that.

"You wouldn't understand." Darkray's comment broke Rayman from his thoughts.

"Maybe I wouldn't." Rayman paused before continuing, looking back up at his clone. "But I'm here to listen to anyone that needs to talk. Including you. I want to help."

Darkray seemed surprised at Rayman's comment. He had never known unconditional kindness like the guardian possessed. Truth be told, he had never known kindness at all.

"I... I just can't tell you, Rayman." The clone looked away from the blonde, refusing to make eye contact.

"Why, Darkray?" Rayman put a hand on his clone's shoulder, attempting to regain his attention.

Darkray bit his lip, fighting the tears that were building in his eyes. "Because, Rayman... I... I'm ashamed..."

"What..." The blonde hesitated for a moment, processing Darkray's words. "What could you possibly have to be ashamed of?"

Darkray turned around, looking Rayman in the eyes. Rayman was genuinely shocked when he saw a single tear roll down his clone's face.

"I'm ashamed of my entire existence. I'm a failure. A... _mistake_." Using his creator's own words to describe himself broke something deep inside of Darkray. It was as if he could feel his emotion wall come tumbling down, and it hurt more than anything he had ever experienced. Everything that he had kept bottled up over the years unexpectedly washed over him at once, and he couldn't hide the pain that contorted his face when it hit him. Darkray threw the blanket he was still wrapped in over his head, hiding away the pain that he knew the guardian had already seen.

"Darkray... what has happened to you...?" Rayman could almost physically feel the hurt radiating from his clone. He never could've imagined that Darkray felt this tormented.

"I wish he'd just end my life!" The clone's shouted from underneath the wad of blankets. "Each time he gets closer to doing it! If father hates me so much then why won't he just do it?!"

Rayman's eyes widened in complete and utter shock. "W-What? Do you mean that... that Mr. Dark did this to you?!"

The guardian's only reply was the muffled sound of sobbing, giving the blonde some time to think. _Surely... surely the one that created him couldn't be the cause of these injuries and such severe emotional damage._

As much as the clone didn't want to inform anyone of the abuse, he couldn't help but tell the guardian. He just couldnt bear to hold it in any longer. It hurt too much. With a shaky voice, Darkray finally responded. "Y-yes..."

The response was barely audible, but Rayman was able to understand it. It took a moment for the truth to finally click with the guardian, and he realized that one of Darkray's previous statements was right. He didn't understand. The guardian just could not fathom how the one to breathe life into the clone was the one that was slowly draining the life from him now.

Pulling himself from his thoughts once more, the blonde focused on his clone. Gently, he pulled the blanket back far enough to uncover Darkray's face. The clone turned to look at him, his face flushed and tear soaked. Rayman could see the pain, shame, and embarrassment in his clone's eyes, and decided that it would be best if Darkray was able to talk it out.

"Talk to me, Darkray... what's been going on?" The guardian's tone held an unusual softness to it, but it made the clone feel slightly more comfortable anyway.

To Rayman's surprise, Darkray didn't protest to confessing. "H-he hits me... but I-I suppose that's obvious..."

Rayman frowned, unsatisfied with that answer. "Tell me the story, Darkray. Tell me how this all started."

The clone looked at Rayman with shocked eyes. "I-I don't want to." He didn't even know if he was capable of sharing that information..

"You need to. Clearly, this is too much for you to handle." The guardian placed his hands on his clone's shoulders, gently forcing Darkray to turn towards him. "I'm here to listen, if you'll let me."

Darkray shifted his gaze towards the ground and thought about it for a moment. He had never told anyone else about this before, but then again no one had ever been kind enough to take interest. Would sharing it with someone ease some of the pain? Although he was uncertain, the clone was desperate to be rid of the horrible pain he felt. Hesitantly, he made his final decision. "Alright... I'll tell you."

Rayman gave the clone a half smile before talking. "I was hoping you'd come around."

"Yeah, whatever..." Darkray wiped away the tears that had fallen from his eyes. He was beginning to regain some control of his emotions again. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Just start from the beginning. When did this all start?" The blonde shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. He had a feeling that this was going to take a while.

"Um, okay..." Darkray unconsciously wrapped the blanket around him more tightly for security before beginning his story. "I... guess it all started after you defeated father. We had to go into hiding, which made me the only person he could take his anger out on. It didn't start out physical, actually. He would just yell at me. Tell me what a failure I was... it always hurt. It still does."

Rayman spoke before his clone had a chance to continue. "Darkray... you're not a failure."

The clone chose to ignore that comment. One person could not take away years of insults so easily.

"After months of the verbal abuse, he finally did it. He slapped me. The act itself didn't hurt, but it made me feel..." Darkray trailed off. The tears pricked at his eyes again, and he chose not to finish his statement. "I think that act of violence awakened something inside of him. Those light slaps became increasingly more violent until he ended up slamming his fist into the side of my face..."

"Darkray...?" Rayman noticed his clone struggling to fight back his tears. He had been struggling throughout his entire story. "It's okay... you can let it out..."

"N-no... I'm fine..." Darkray took in a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. "I was able to take the punches, honestly. They hurt. They left some bruises and minor cuts. But it never left any severe damage."

"What about your head?" Rayman asked, curious.

"I... I'm getting there, Rayman." Darkray replied, clearly bothered at the interruption. He just wanted to get this out as fast as he could.

"I think last night was worst it's been so far... I had a curfew. And I was late. I tried to sneak in, but he was there waiting for me. I tried to explain, but... he never listens..." Darkray purposely avoided eye contact with the blonde. He didn't want Rayman to see this tears forming in his eyes once more. "I-I spoke before I thought. I should've been more careful with my words..."

"What... happened?" Rayman asked.

"I told him the truth. I told him that I'm tired of the constant abuse he puts me though." Darkray stopped, not wanting to continue.

Cautiously, Rayman asked another question. "And what did he say?"

"He... h-he..." Darkray couldn't prevent the single tear from escaping. It slowly rolled down his cheek, and the guardian saw it despite the clone's best efforts to hide it. "He told me that I was nothing but a mistake..."

Those words broke something in Darkray once more, and this time he completely fell apart. He buried his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. The sudden breakdown took the guardian by surprise. It took Rayman a moment to process what was happening, but when he did, he felt extreme pity for the boy in front of him. He scooted closer to his clone and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Just let it all out, Darkray..." Rayman said in a soothing tone.

"Why am I not good enough, Rayman?!" The sobbing clone looked up at the guardian, his face wet with tears. "Why does he hate me so much?! Why won't he just _kill_ me?!"

"Don't say that!" Rayman exclaimed.

Darkray was quick to reply. "Why not?! I _want_ to die! I _deserve_ to die! I am nothing but a failure! _A_ _mistake!_ "

Rayman gently placed a hand on his clone's shoulder. "Listen to me, Darkray. You are not a failure or a mistake. You don't _deserve_ death. Please stop wishing for it..."

The guardian's face changed from a stern look to a look of sadness, a look that seemed foreign on the blonde's face. A long pause passed between the two before Darkray broke the silence.

"It hurts too much to live..." The clone looked to the ground, tears still freely falling from his eyes.

"It's not supposed to be this way..." Rayman placed a finger under his clone's chin, gently forcing him to lift his head and meet his gaze. "Life is supposed to be full of joy and happiness. Sure, sometimes life can be rough, but the good should outweigh the bad."

Darkray pushed Rayman's hand away, but didn't try avoid eye contact. "But it will never be that way. Not for me."

The guardian frowned. "It can be that way for you, Darkray. You just... have to leave."

"Leave?" The clone glared at Rayman. "What do you mean leave?! Leave home?! _My_ home?! And go where, Rayman?!"

"Anywhere!" Rayman's voice came out louder than he intended, but he couldn't control it. "That place is not your home! A home is place where you can go to feel safe! A place where people care about you!"

Darkray abruptly stood, yelling back at the guardian. "I can't ever have that! Everyone _hates_ me for what I've done! I can't just start over, Rayman! That leaves me trapped in the place that _I_ refer to as 'home'!"

"Who said that you couldn't start over?" Rayman stood up to be face level with his clone.

"You can't possibly be serious!" Darkray let out a sigh. He attempted to calm himself before he spoke again. "Rayman, I am the creation of someone that caused havoc all throughout the glades. I even _assisted_ him. There is no starting over for me. Most people don't forgive as easily as you do, _guardian."_

The way Darkray's tone suggested that having the title of "guardian" was a bad thing bothered Rayman, but he tried to ignore it. Before the blonde had time to respond, Darkray changed the topic.

"Look, as much as I'd love to stay and talk about my shitty life, I really should be getting back... home." The clone was really starting to hate that word.

"You can't go back there!" Rayman's sudden shout startled the clone.

"Do I really have a choice? Even if the entire world did decide to forgive me, I couldn't just abandon father. He created me." Darkray looked to the ground, saddened. He knew that he shouldn't feel like he owed Mr. Dark anything, but he couldn't help himself from feeling just that. And somewhere deep inside of him, he knew that he longed for his creator's approval. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Darkray turned away from Rayman. Without saying another word, he began walking away.

"I won't let you go back there!" Rayman reached out and grabbed the hood of his clone's hoodie, pulling back with enough force to make the clone fall backwards, flat on his back.

Darkray shouted immediately after hitting the ground. "What the fucking hell, Rayman?!" The jolt from the impact caused Darkray's headache to flare up again.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't just stand back and watch as you seal your fate!" The blonde felt guilty for pulling the clone down, but he couldn't concentrate on that. "He could potentially kill you, Darkray!"

Darkray pushed himself off the ground and turned to face Rayman, getting uncomfortably close to his face. "You are not going to stop me from going back, Rayman!"

"Stop being so stubborn!" Rayman suddenly took hold of his clone's shoulders, his grip painfully tight, shaking him slightly.

In one swift movement, Darkray raised his hand and slapped it across the blonde's face. At that moment, time felt like it stopped.

Rayman stumbled back, placing his hand over the stinging cheek. All Darkray could do was watch, frozen in place. He didn't mean to hurt the blonde. It was just a reflex. A reflex designed to protect himself after all the years of abuse, and Rayman's brash actions had unintentionally triggered it.

"I-I..." The clone could find no words. He took a couple steps back, still stunned by his own actions.

Rayman finally looked up, a calmness in his eyes that greatly unnerved the clone. "Darkray..."

The guardian understood. He realized that he had been too physical with his clone. Before Rayman had a chance to apologize, Darkray darted off in the opposite direction.

"Darkray!" The guardian called out. He knew that the clone didn't intentionally hurt him. It was something that he couldn't control, but Rayman knew that Darkray was sure to blame himself for it anyway.

After a few more calls, it became apparent that Darkray was not coming back. It didn't take very long for Darkray to disappear from sight. The guardian thought about going after him, but decided that he'd never catch up to him if he tried.

Rayman released a sigh of defeat. "It's not your fault..." he mumbled to himself.

The blonde sat down with his back against a tree, using it for support. He decided that he would wait for his clone's inevitable return. He was bound to have another falling out with his creator, and for a lack of places to go, he would surely return here. Until that happened, Rayman would wait here and welcome Darkray back when he finally arrived.

Rayman looked up to the sky in thought. _I just hope his next fight isn't his last..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Guess what day it is? That's right! It's the one year anniversary of the original publishing date for this fanfiction! This fic is now one year old! Happy birthday, fanfiction!**

 **Anyhoo, I'm aware that I have made you all wait for almost a year for a new chapter. I am... Very sorry. No matter what I did, I just couldn't make this chapter** _ **feel**_ **right. It got to the point where I dreaded reading it again to try to fix it. I finally did a couple weeks ago, of course. I decided I would post the new chapter on the fic's one year anniversary as a little treat for you all. I absolutely HATE this chapter, but there's not much else I can do about it. I've tried. A lot.**

 **Also, Tina Cheney makes a very valid point. Like, about the whole 'Rayman and Darkray not actually have arms' thing. I don't so much forget about that as much as I just write something that should make sense... but doesn't... I mean, it's not ever day that one considers limbless beings. But anyway, yeah. That's just me being a goof. I'll try not to do that anymore, but it'll more than likely happen again. Hell, I might have even done it in this chapter. I hope not. I think I fixed most of the errors.**

 **I'm sure you guys really don't care about my ramblings. You've waited almost a year for this (horrendous) chapter. So, without further hesitation, here. Go nuts.**

Running. He couldn't stop running. Darkray's one and only goal was to get as far away from the guardian as possible. He continued to run until his foot snagged on a tree root, causing him to tumble to the ground.

"DAMN IT!" He screamed out. The fall hurt, but it was nothing compared to the turmoil he felt inside. He abruptly stood and slammed his fist into the closest thing to him; a tree. Slowly, he pulled his hand away from the massive dent he had just created in the, ignoring the throbbing in his hand.

"Why do I fuck up everything?!" Darkray yelled at himself. His hatred and anger for himself overshadowed all other emotions. Unable to control himself anymore, his fist plummeted into the tree once more. He continued to senselessly beat the tree as tears of frustration began to stream from his eyes.

Darkray eventually stopped assaulting nature, only after nearly destroying it. He just couldn't gather up enough energy for another blow. Exhausted, the clone collapsed onto the ground below him. The coolness of the grass was welcome on his overheated body. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to wander in his thoughts.

 _Why did I do that? Why did I_ hit _Rayman?! The only person to ever show me any kindness and I slap him across the face? What the hell is wrong with me...?_ He buried his face in his hands. _Maybe... maybe father is right... maybe I am just a mistake..._

Moving his hands away from his face, Darkray looked up to the night sky. He had only now just realized that he had been away from his home for an entire day.

 _I must've been unconscious for quite some time._ He thought to himself. _Either that or I spent more time crying than I thought._

Shaking himself from his thoughts, the clone sat up. As much as he dreaded going home, he missed the comfort of his bed equally as much. With nowhere else to go, Darkray stood up and pressed onwards.

Without too much more of a walk, he arrived at his front door. He didn't take time to peek inside this time. Turning the doorknob, Darkray swung the door open, letting it crash into the wall as it did. It didn't surprise the clone to see his creator sitting in the same seat positioned to face the front door. He looked annoyed.

"Late again, I see." Mr. Dark stated.

Darkray stepped inside and closed the door behind him before he finally responded. "Like I give a damn."

This response took Mr. Dark by surprise. "I see you still haven't learned your lesson." Mr. Dark stood and slowly walked towards his creation, gripping the all too familiar bat in his hand. However, the clone didn't make an attempt to move.

Darkray slightly smirked, although exhaustion and a hint of what looked like sadness loomed in his eyes. "Hit me with your best shot." He honestly didn't care anymore. He figured he deserved it anyway.

"What?" Mr. Dark was dumbfounded. Was his Darkray _asking_ to be beaten? That couldn't be right. Mr. Dark looked over Darkray, studying him. It was then that he noticed the bandages around the clone's head.

"Where did those come from?" Mr. Dark gestured towards the bandages, tone demanding..

Darkray paused for a moment at the unexpected question, thinking about his answer carefully. He decided it would be best to keep his encounter with the guardian a secret, "It's none of your business, _father._ "

Mr. Dark glared at his creation. "You're going to tell me where those came from. Now."

"Or else what?" Darkray's expression morphed from mildly cocky to annoyed. "What are you going to do? Hit me again? Weren't you going to do that anyway?"

"It would be in your best interest to get rid of the attitude, Darkray." Mr. Dark was clearly becoming angered, although the clone payed no attention to these emotions.

"Yeah... whatever." Darkray let out a yawn. His exhaustion was beginning to show even more. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed."

Darkray started to make his way to his room before being stopped by a forceful tug on his hood.

"You're not going anywhere without answering my question." Mr. Dark commanded, yanking on the hood once more and causing Darkray to stumble backwards slightly.

"Let go." Darkray spoke through clenched teeth.

"No." Mr. Dark answered. He yanked on the hood once more in an attempt to assert his dominance, but suddenly, in one swift movement, the creator found himself slammed up against a wall. Darkray had pinned him there with a hand clenched around the fabric at his chest.

"I told you to fucking let go!" Mr. Dark could see the blazing fire behind Darkray's eyes. The sudden emotional change startle his creator, although he would never admit to it. Despite being significantly smaller, Darkray appeared rather intimidating. Mr. Dark stared into the fire behind those eyes. Never before had he seen the clone like this.

Long seconds passed by before Darkray finally released his creator. The clone's eyes softened slightly before he turned and made his way to his room. Without a word, he opened the door, stepping in and shutting it behind him, cutting himself off from the rest of the world.

Darkray crawled into his bed, pulling the blankets up over his head. He felt numb. He couldn't completely comprehend what he had just done.

 _Two major fuck ups in one day. I guess I really am a mistake._

He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to think. He feared that thinking would reawaken the feeling of emotional turmoil again. Complete numbness was the only welcome emotion at this point.

Darkray could feel the fatigue creep over him. He didn't feel like he could fight it for much longer. Relaxing his body, he finally allowed sleep to take him.

 **XXXX**

A suffocating pressure awoke Darkray, and he struggled to pull the covers off from over his head. Once he had finally managed to rip the covers off, the clone's eyes were greeted by a horrifying sight. Mr. Dark was sitting on him, pinning him, with a knife suspended in the air.

"I'm going to end your pathetic life, you sorry piece of shit!" Without further warning, Mr. Dark swung the knife downwards on a crash course to Darkray's head. Much to Mr. Dark's surprise, the knife stopped mid swing. Darkray gripped the blade, trying to push back against the force.

"F-father! Stop!" Darkray's yell was laced with agony. The blade sliced into the palms of his hands causing blood to quickly trickle out of the wounds. Tears welled up in his eyes as the blade slowly came closer to his face. His strength was no match for his creator.

Darkray turned his face to the side as the blade came too close to his nose. He could feel the warm, thick liquid from his hands drip on his face from above. The knife only continued to dig deeper into his hands.

"Father, p-please stop!" Darkray screamed at his creator, but his plea fell upon deaf ears. Tears of fear and pain streamed down his face. The clone couldn't fight him off for much longer. He could feel the tip of the blade touch his cheek.

"STOP!" Panicked, Darkray mustered up all the strength he had and shoved Mr. Dark off of the side of his bed, knife and all. There was a thud and then tension filled silence.

Darkray cautiously moved towards the side of the bed farthest from Mr. Dark, shakily stepping off of the bed. Slowly, the clone made his way to the door. He froze when the dark figure finally stood up from the other side of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Dark's voice was low and dangerous, causing Darkray's anxiety to spike.

Darkray stared at his creator, mouth agape. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even think. The clone's only reaction came when Mr. Dark began making his way around the bed.

Darkray's senses finally returned to him and he quickly bolted out of his room. He knew that he needed to get away. His life depended on it. He only briefly looked behind himself to see the approaching threat before regaining his focus on escaping once more.

Just feet away from the door that would lead him to temporary safety, Darkray's foot caught on the leg of the couch, causing him to tumble to the ground. As quickly as he could, he braced his hands on the floor in an attempt to push himself back up, but before he had a chance to, he felt a devastating blow to his stomach. He yelped in pain and looked up at the figure hovering over him.

"P-Please don't-AH!" Darkray was cut off by another blow to the stomach which he now realized to be powerful kick.

The clone looked up at Mr. Dark with pleading eyes. "Please... stop..."

"SHUT UP!" Mr. Dark kicked his creation once again, evicting another cry of pain. "This is what you deserve!"

After several more blows to his creation's torso, Mr. Dark grabbed Darkray's hood with one hand and forcefully yanked him up to eye level. Slowly, he brought forth the knife with the other hand, gently letting it graze down the clone's face. It sent chills down Darkray's spine.

"Just do it..." Darkray closed his eyes, waiting for his creator to finish him off. At this point, he desperately wanted the sweet release of death. He couldn't bear the physical and emotional abuse anymore. He waited for what felt like an eternity, but the end he desired never came.

Suddenly, Mr. Dark dropped his creation, letting him fall heavily to the floor. "I can't believe you're so weak. Completely pathetic." He glared down at his creation. "Get out of my sight."

Darkray wearily looked up at his creator, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry... father..."

"I said get out!" Mr. Dark slammed his foot into the clone once more, causing another pained yelp.

An unexpected coughing fit wracked through Darkray's body, and he cringed at the metallic taste that came with it. He wiped the warm droplets of red liquid from his lips with the back of his glove, further staining it red. Mr. Dark rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I guess I'll do it myself." Mr. Dark grabbed his creation's hood, dragging him to the exit of the house and kicking the door open. "Come back as less of a fucking disappointment, alright?" With that, Mr. Dark forcefully threw Darkray outside, turning and slamming the door behind him.

Darkray hit the ground with a thud, landing on his already sore stomach. He coughed once more, causing blood to splatter on the ground. He felt as if he was too weak to move, but he knew he had to leave. He feared that Mr. Dark would come back for him.

Shakily and unbalanced, he stood, bracing himself on the nearest tree. After he regained his breath, he walked deeper into the woods, knowing exactly where he was headed.

 **XXXX**

Rayman stared at his reflection in the pond. The area around his eyes was dark. He hadn't slept. He couldn't sleep. He was too worried about his new friend.

The blonde scooped up some water with his hands and splashed it on his face, using the front of his hoodie as a towel. The cool water wasn't enough to bring him out of his tired daze, but the unexpected voice from behind him was.

"Rayman…?" Darkray stood behind the blonde, awkwardly slouched over. Unable to stand any longer, he collapsed to the ground.

"Darkray!" Rayman shot up and ran over to his friend, quickly dropping to the the ground beside him. "Darkray! Are you okay?!"

"I'm sorry..." The clone's mumbles were barely audible.

"W-what?" Rayman seemed surprised.

Darkray looked up at the blonde sitting beside him. "I'm sorry... for hurting you..." He felt more out of breath than he should be.

Rayman shook his head. "Don't apologize. There's no need to."

"I didn't mean to hurt you..." The clone's eyes filled with tears once more, and he internally cursed at himself for his weakness.

The guardian sighed and helped his friend sit upright. "I know, Darkray. I know. But that's not important right now. What is important is your current condition. What... happened?"

Darkray unexpectedly broke out into uncontrollable sobs, burying his face into the blonde's chest. Rayman froze for a moment, processing the situation. After a few seconds had passed, Rayman placed a hand on his clone's back, rubbing soothingly.

"H-he hates me! He won't even grant me my wish for death! It's like h-he wants to torture me! As if he enjoys my suffering!" Darkray was practically screaming into the hoodie his face was buried in.

"Darkray..." The blonde pushed the clone back to look him in the eyes. "Tell me what happened."

The guardian's expression was unusually serious. Darkray hated that look, and he purposely avoided eye contact with the blonde.

"I… I got physical with him last night... I was just so angry, I couldn't control it... then I-I guess he wanted to punish me..." The clone placed his hands over his mouth as he coughed violently into them, the familiar metallic taste returning. He pulled his hands from his mouth to look at the fresh speckles of blood on already stained gloves. This allowed Rayman to see the cuts on the palms of Darkray's hands.

The guardian abruptly grabbed his clone's hands. "What happened?!" Rayman looked back up at the clone with a slight look of panic in his eyes.

"I-I'm okay, Rayman..." Darkray still couldn't make himself look at the guardian.

Rayman abruptly pulled off his clone's gloves. A hiss of pain came from Darkray as the fabric pulled across the gashes on his palms. Rayman's eyes widened upon fully seeing the damage to Darkray's hands.

"You're okay?" Rayman asked. "You're OKAY?!" Rayman paused for a moment as burning rage contorted his features. "What else did he do?"

Darkray leaned away from the blonde, clearly uncomfortable. "Rayman, I don't want to-"

"WHAT ELSE DID HE DO, DARKRAY?!" Rayman couldn't control himself, his outburst startling his clone.

"He beat the fucking hell out of me, okay?!" Darkray screamed back. The clone went through another coughing spell. He cover his mouth to keep the blood from splattering outward.

Rayman cringed at the sight before pulling his clone back towards him, soothingly rubbing his back. The contact made Darkray tense, but at the same time he found it comforting.

"I'm sorry." Rayman finally said. "I didn't mean to yell. It's just... he shouldn't do this, Darkray. He has no right to abuse you."

"Maybe I deserve it..." Darkray's voice was quiet, but still audible.

"No. Don't say that. It's not true." Rayman spoke as softly as he could. It angered him further that his friend honestly believed that he deserve the abuse.

Darkray released a sigh. "But I'm a failure..."

"You are not!" Rayman grabbed the sides of his clone's head and forced eye contact. "You are not a failure, Darkray. I know he told you that you are, but it's not true. Do you understand me?"

The clone gave a slight nod of his head, eyes wide.

The blonde released his grip on Darkray. "Good. Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Rayman stood up and offered his hand for support. Unsure, Darkray stared at the guardian questioningly before he finally accepted the assistance. Rayman was careful to not hurt his clone's already wounded hands.

The blonde started to walk, still keeping his grip on his clone's hand, but stopped when a tug notified him that Darkray was no longer walking with him.

"Where?" Darkray asked.

"Where what?" Rayman replied.

Darkray rolled his eyes. "Where are we going, dipshit?"

"You really shouldn't curse so much." Rayman said, slightly annoyed at the name calling.

The clone raised an eyebrow, not amused. He would have looked a lot less impressed if his face wasn't tinted red from crying. "Don't avoid my question."

"Fine." Rayman stated. "We're going back to my home."

Darkray expected that answer, but it still angered him nonetheless. "Are you fucking stupid?! I can't go there! You know I won't be accepted there!"

"Yes you will, Darkray. I know you will." Rayman gave his clone a small, reassuring smile.

"No. I will not go with you." The clone replied. "That's final."

Darkray's stubbornness was really starting to get on the blonde's nerves, but he decided to let him have his way.

"Alright. You can just stay here then. But don't you even think about going back home. I will personally track you down and drag you back." Rayman said, smirking at his clone.

"Fine!" Darkray exclaimed. "Geez, you're really annoying sometimes."

"Only sometimes? Are ya finally starting to warm up to me?" Rayman's grin made the clone roll his eyes.

"Shut up." Darkray bluntly stated. He tried to hide the smile forming on his face, but to no avail. Rayman saw it and his grin widened further. It was nice to see something other than negativity plastered onto the clone's face.

"Go lay down and rest while I'm gone, okay?" Rayman gestured towards the blanket left from the previous night.

"Will you just get out of here already? I can take care of myself." Although Darkray was annoyed by Rayman's abundance of concern, it felt good to finally have someone care about him.

"Alright. I'm going. I'll be back shortly." Rayman turned and started to walk away.

The clone watched the blonde disappear into the woods, the opposite direction of his own home. Darkray would never admit it, but he didn't want Rayman to leave. He didn't want to be alone.

Letting out a sigh, Darkray made his way over to the bundled up blanket next to a large tree. He sat down with his back against the tree. The air felt more chilly than he realized. He wrapped the plush blanket around himself and closed his eyes, willing his mind to rest.

It was only after clearing his mind did he realize just how sore his body was. Breathing alone hurt.

Darkray brought his hands up to his face, examining them closely. The deep gashes ran diagonally across his palms, and it looked as if the blood hadn't completely dried.

Not much time had passed before Darkray stood from his resting place, and keeping the blanket securely wrapped around him, he walk over towards the small pond. He stared down at his reflection, slightly startled by his own battered appearance.

The clone lifted his hoodie up enough to show the dark bruising around his torso. No wonder it hurt so damn much to breathe. He pulled his hoodie down and sat by the water's edge. He couldn't stop staring into the water. Completely entranced in his own reflection, he didn't even noticed when hot tears began to make their way down his face.

Darkray didn't know how long he had been staring at himself. He was only torn away from his trance when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Darkray?"

Darkray turned to see his lighter counterpart, whose soft smile faded upon seeing the wetness on the clone's face. Rayman hurriedly made his way over to Darkray's side, taking a seat next to his clone.

"What's wrong...?" Rayman asked in a soothing tone.

"I-I barely even look like myself anymore." Darkray looked back at his reflection. "Beaten, bruised, bloody..."

"Hey..." Rayman reached out a hand, wiping away the tears from his clone's face. "That's what I'm here for. I'll clean ya up."

"I'm fine." Darkray said, bluntly.

Rayman narrowed his eyes. "I did not go all the way back home then come all the way back here just for you to deny my help."

Darkray rolled his eyes. "I never said you had to do that."

"Oh, sure. I was just going to let me friend remain covered in his own blood." Rayman shook his head, annoyed. _You are so stubborn sometimes._ "Just shut up and let me help you."

Darkray looked away from the blonde. "Fine. Whatever."

There was an awkward silence between the two. Long seconds ticked by before the silence was finally broken.

"Well, get over here!" Rayman reached out and grabbed his clone, pulling him closer than what Darkray was comfortable with.

"You're in my bubble." Darkray muttered.

Rayman tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

 _"_ My personal bubble." Darkray replied.

Rayman chuckled softly at his clone's apparent discomfort. "Guess you're just going to have to deal with it."

Darkray's only reply was an exaggerated groan. Rayman rolled his eyes, smile plastered on his face. He took his clone's left hand in both of his hands, closely examining the wounded palm. He looked over at the few supplies that he had brought with him, and grabbed a soft cloth from the pile. The blonde dipped the cloth into the water next to him.

"Is that really sanitary?" Darkray asked, cringing slightly.

Rayman spared a glance at the crystal clear pond before responding. "Looks clean enough to me."

Before the clone could respond, Rayman placed the cloth on Darkray's left hand palm, lightly dabbing the wound. Despite the guardian's best efforts to be gentle, the clone still hissed in pain.

"Ya know, that kinda fucking hurts." Darkray glared at the blonde, tense from the pain.

Rayman rolled his eyes. "Sorry. I can't help that."

Darkray groaned. "Assho-OW!" A particularly rough pat on his palm sent a jolt of pain through his hand. The clone sent a glare Rayman's way.

The blonde returned the glare, unamused. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

The clone turned his glare to the ground, pouting, mumbling something under his breath. This evicted another eye roll and a smirk from his lighter counterpart.

"You are such are child." Rayman responded.

The guardian looked beside of him again and grabbed the bandages. He carefully wrapped the clone's left hand.

"One down, one to go." Rayman gave Darkray a genuine smile before starting on the other hand.

Despite the pain of the contact of the cloth on his wound, the cool dampness of the rag felt somewhat pleasant. Darkray silently watched the guardian work on his right hand. He stared at his wound intently, remembering the violence from earlier. It made him shiver.

"Darkray? Are you okay?" The guardian looked concerned. "You seem a little... out of it."

"Hmm?" Darkray looked up at his friend's concerned face. "Oh. Yeah. I'm... fine."

Rayman eyed him suspiciously before continuing his work. "If ya say so."

 _Why care so much?_ Darkray thought, perplexed. _Does he truly care about me?_

Blankly, Darkray stared at the hand being bandaged. He was focused on his own thoughts rather than the blonde in front of him.

Rayman glanced up to see his clone's glazed eyes, but he remained silent, looking back down to finish his work on the injured hand.

"Done." Rayman's words finally broke the silence, snapping Darkray out of his thoughts.

"Thank Polokus." Darkray stated. "From the damn pain, I thought you were trying to make it worse."

Rayman raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It didn't seem like you were very focused on anything I was doing."

The clone brought his hands close to his face, examining the new bandages. "Well, I... was thinking." Truth be told, he was more focused on his hands than talking to the guardian at the moment. He noted how much better his hands looked without the visible wounds.

"Anything in particular?" Rayman asked.

Darkray looked up into the blonde's eyes, an uncaring look in his own eyes. "Nothing you should be concerned about."

"Right..." The guardian looked to the ground, annoyed. Granted, his clone had come a long way, being as open as he currently was. But it still bothered Rayman that he was, to an extent, being shut out.

Rayman looked back up at his clone, the annoyed expression disappearing. "So, how else can I help?"

"Um, thanks, but I think you've done enough. Good job, I guess." Physical contact made Darkray uncomfortable, so he tried his best to brush off the guardian's help.

Rayman was unconvinced. "Oh, so you just cough up blood for fun?"

Only after Rayman's comment did Darkray notice the faint metallic taste still lingering in his mouth. He clutched the front of his hoodie with his sore hands, glaring at the guardian. "I'm fine, Rayman."

"Oh, drop the act and let me see." Rayman was trying his hardest to keep himself from being annoyed, but his clone's stubbornness made that rather difficult.

"No!" Darkray shouted. "I promise you, it is not something you want to fucking see!"

"Don't curse." Rayman stated without emotion.

Without another word, the guardian placed his palm on his clone's forehead. Before Darkray could question the action, he found himself falling backwards into his back. It took him a moment to realize that Rayman had pushed him over.

Furious, Darkray yelled, "What the hell was that-"

"Shut up." Rayman interrupted. "I'm looking and you're not going to stop me."

Darkray could feel his anger sizzle into mild irritation for the blonde. "You know what? Fine. Whatever. You just do whatever the hell you want to do, Rayman."

Rayman rolled his eyes. He found the clone's constant mood swings more than a little irritating. Focusing back on the task at hand, Rayman gently lifted his clone's hoodie up to reveal his bruised torso.

"That looks... um..." The blonde trailed off, cringing at the sight.

"Painful? Because it is." Darkray curtly stated.

Carefully, Rayman touched the bruises littering the clone's torso, gently trailing his fingers across them. He had never seen bruises this large or this dark before.

Darkray shivered at the blonde's touch. The physical contact was causing him discomfort, both mentally and physically.

"I don't know how to help." Rayman finally said.

"Then stop fucking touching me!" The clone sat up and shoved the blonde away from him. "You're weirding me out!"

Rayman smirked slightly. "You're such a touch-me-not."

Darkray glared at the guardian. "Excuse me, but after years of being beaten, I think I have a damn right to be uncomfortable when someone touches me."

The smirk vanished from the blonde's face, and he felt a tinge of guilt creep up on him. "Sorry, I... sorry."

The clone's expression softened once he realized he had made his friend feel bad. Reluctantly, he responded. "It's alright... I don't expect you to take my abuse into account every time you do or say something. Honestly, I don't want you touching me because it feels... weird."

"Feels weird? Weird like how?" Rayman asked, curious.

Darkray blushed, avoiding eye contact. "It, um… it... tickles..."

The blonde's smirk returned. "Aww, is Darkray ticklish?"

The clone shot a warning glare at his lighter counterpart, the blush on his face darkening. "You'd better shut up, Rayman. Or else."

"Pfft!" Rayman laughed, amused. "Or else what? I'll just tickle ya into submission."

Annoyed, the Darkray shouted. "That's it! I'm sick of your shit!"

In one sudden motion, Darkray tackled the blonde, pinning him to the ground. Rayman's back hit the ground, but surprise quickly changed into amusement, and he stared up at his clone.

"Touchy, touchy." said the guardian, smirk still present on his face. "May I suggest something?"

"What?!" Darkray yelled, annoyed.

Unexpectedly, the clone found himself being flipped off of the blonde, hitting his back on the ground and causing intense pain to spread throughout his body. He looked through squinted eyes to see the blonde on top of him, and quickly realized that their roles had been reversed.

"I'd suggest not attacking someone when you know you're not in an optimal state." Rayman finally responded. "Now..." The blonde moved off of his clone, assisting him in sitting up. "Did I hurt you?"

"Yes, you fucking hurt me!" Darkray snapped, pushing away the blonde's helping hands.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Rayman said. "I was just trying to teach you to not provoke fights when you can't possibly win them. You're wounded, weak, and you must be extremely fatigued. Did you rest at all while I was gone?"

"Do I look tired to you?" Darkray asked.

"Actually, yes." Rayman answered. "You look completely exhausted."

Darkray glared at the guardian. "Yeah, well… so do you."

Rayman rolled his eyes. "I know I do. I was up all night waiting for you."

"You… were waiting for me?" Darkray asked, surprised.

"Of course I was waiting for you." Rayman responded. "I was terribly worried about you, and it seems as though I was right to be worried." The gaurdian paused for a moment before continuing. "I wanted to be here for you if you needed me."

"You… care about me?" Darkray couldn't help but ask. No one had ever truly cared about him before.

Rayman smiled at his clone. "That's a dumb question. Of course I care about you, Darkray."

Darkray didn't respond. Instead, he looked to the ground and furrowed his bows in thought. He didn't think anyone could ever care about him. Suddenly, he released an unexpected yawn. Maybe he was more tired than he realized.

The guardian chuckled softly. "C'mon. I think we're both in need of some well deserved rest. You especially."

Rayman stood up and offered a hand to Darkray, which he accepted without much hesitation. The guardian led his clone over to the oversized tree, Darkray dragging the plush blanket behind him. Once to the tree, the clone sat down and propped himself up against the tree, covering himself with the blanket. Rayman sat down next to him.

"Mind sharing?" Rayman asked.

The clone looked over to his lighter counterpart. "Sure, I guess."

Rayman wiggled under the covers, sliding closer to Darkray. A moment of silence passed before a voice interrupted it.

"Rayman?"

"Yes?"

"You're in my bubble."

"Oh! Sorry."

The guardian quickly scooted away from his clone, taking some of the blanket with him. After moving far enough away, Rayman looked over to see his clone struggling to keep his eyes opened.

"Darkray, you're safe here." Rayman said soothingly. "You can relax."

Darkray looked over at the guardian and gave a slight nod before burying himself deeper into the covers and turning to face away from Rayman.

The guardian watched as his clone's breathing slowed. He'd watch over Darkray until he fell asleep. He'd make sure nothing happened to him. Rayman made it his personal duty to protect Darkray at all costs.

 _Don't worry, Darkray… you're safe with me._


End file.
